Improved method of scouring wool



UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIOEC IMPROVED METHOD OF SCOURING WOOL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,358, dated September'25, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAVE MIcHELEr, ofBrusscls, in the Province ofBrabant and Kingdom of Belgium, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Scouring Wool, and in extracting the products which itcontains; and 1 do hereby declare that the following is a full and exactdescription thereof.

My invention consists in the following process:

First, the wool is soaked in "essels arranged in any suitable way, so asto produce a liquor or wash which may be strongly concentrated.

Second, on leaving these vessels the wool is slightly rinsed, so as todeprive it of the larger portion of the earthy matters it contains.

Third, the liquor formed by soaking the wool, after standing in areservoir in which it deposits part of the insoluble matters itcontains, is conducted into a scouring-boiler of the ordinary formheated to a temperature of about 50 centi grade, (106 Fahrenheit.) Thisliquor serves for scouring the wool without any alkaline addition.

Fourth, the wool, after remaining for some time in this bath, is quitescoured. ltis made to pass between rollers which reject into thescouring-boiler the liquor absorbed by the wool.

Fifth, the wool is rinsed in the ordinary way.

Sixth, the scouring-bath, when overcharged with suint, is emptied into areservoir, from whence the liquor may be directed into evaporating-pans.The suint obtained by evaporation is then calcined, and furnishesconcern trated carbonate of potash.

WVhen an interruption in the scouring of the wool has led to theevaporation of the wash contained in the soaking-vessels, as well as inthe scouring-bath, or when wool difficult to scour has to be treated,new scouring-baths may be made by dissolving in hot water a sufficientquantity of suint obtained in evaporating-pans.

The most difficult wools may be scoured with baths containing five percent. of their gross weight of suint.

A bath capable of scouring two thousand pounds of wool may be made withone hundred pounds of suint. This bath, when evaporated, will yield fromthree to four hundred pounds of suint, besides the hundred poundsemployed for the scouring.

Having now described the nature of my said invention and in what mannerthe same is to be performed, I claim- The combined process forextracting from the wool itself all the elements necessary for cleaning,scouring, or removing the suint from the same, and of obtaining by thesame operation liquids free from foreign matters, which would decreasethe value of the products derived from them, and sufficientlyconcentrated for forming these sub-products with advanta ge,substantially as above described.

GUSTAVE MIOHELET.

Witnesses EMILE DEZWARTE, ()rro TREBBIN.

